Earth’s inhabitants must show urgency to curb their appetite for unsustainable resource consumption

According to the Global Footprint Network, in 2017, we busted the Earth’s budget for the year in less than eight months! For the rest of the year, we are maintaining our ecological deficit by drawing down local resource stocks and accumulating carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This also results in food shortages, soil erosion, and other related issues that pushes the Earth further in to the overshoot mode. The Worldwatch Institute notes that “If the consumption aspirations of the wealthiest of nations cannot be satiated, the prospects for corralling consumption everywhere before it strips and degrades our planet beyond recognition would appear to be bleak.” This infographic from Statista points out to the fact that developed countries are guilty of consuming resources far greater than developing countries and this consumption is highly unsustainable. Hence urgent measures must be taken to curb their unsustainable growth and at the same time ensure that developing countries too get their fair share of opportunity to use the earth’s resources and grow.
Image source: Statista
Image license: CC BY-ND